Action packed realism - Kodak

16 Hyderabad 17
Hyderabad
"Darkness becomes eloquent
with Kodak.”
I use 50D for day exterior. For night exteriors I use 500T. For
twilight and dusk I use 200T where I can get shadow details. What
I like in Kodak is its intense rendering of color, its strength when it
is underexposed, and its ability to reach into the highlight. In my
debut movie Mantra, I was planning a scene with a candle light
effect at night, but I had a doubt of capturing the subject which
holds the candle. Kodak made it possible.
In shooting this film Mantra I really had a very tough time trying to
create the darkness, the quality of night effects. But because the
stock was Kodak, not only could I face up to the challenge, the
results when we saw them on screen were really wonderful. I could
get the exact shadow details which the director wanted in the final
visual output of the film. Darkness becomes eloquent with Kodak.
Solo
Solo
Solo Solo
incomparable when one looks at digital. "As of now digital does not pose
a menace to the lasting of film. I do not think it will," he says.
Sivendra does not believe a film can either be good or bad. He says, "No,
a film cannot be really called a good film or a bad film. It's really all about
how you expose it." So according to him, the quality of exposure can
vary from person to person, and the audience response to it can either
be favourable or unfavourable. Which means the quality of a film would
really depend on the outlook of the person visualizing it. If the quality of
visualization is good, the audience would always accept it. Of course
that also depends on the capacity of the DoP shooting the film. If an
efficient DoP works on a film, the quality of his visual imagery can really
result in a film being very well made.
“I do play with light and shade in a sensible
balance to create that particular mood of a scene
or character. How efficiently you balance them,
that creative you are as a cinematographer.”
For the up and coming DoPs of tomorrow Sivendra said, "A young DoP
should have good command over lighting. He or she must have
appropriate composition skills." But the aspect he most stresses on is,
"A huge enthusiasm is must."
Sivendra personally feels being based in Hyderabad is something that
helps him a lot. He says, "It's a great comfort shooting in Hyderabad as
it's our local place. And it has fabulous locations too."
His current project is Solo, with director Parashuram and actor Nara Rohit.
To conclude, Sivendra's own enthusiasm towards creating wonderful
visual images is an outcome of his attitude towards continuous
experimentation and his spirit to explore new avenues of image making.
Technical Details
Film
Director
Producer
Stock
Solo
Parasuram
Vamsi Krishna Srinivas
Kodak
No short cut
Dil Raju has earned the suffix
not just for his successful debut with Dil
but also for putting his life and soul into
every movie of his, for having the heart
to encourage new talent and the
courage to make good movies even if it
means taking a huge risk.
It's not just a mere coincidence that he is
known as 'Dil' Raju after his first successful
production titled Dil in 2003. Raju has earned
the suffix to his name more because he is
known for embracing the new and for being
receptive to new ideas. Raju has introduced
one new director ever year since 2003. He is
credited for identifying new talent - from
director Sukumar for Arya (2004) to Bhaskar
of Bommarillu (2008) and being successful in
almost all of his 14 productions till date. He is
also among one of the few producers who
takes active interest in the movie and keeps
track of every component. It is his all-
consuming passion to make meaningful films
that makes him tick in the industry according
to this man behind Sri Venkateswara
Creations.
"I was always fascinated by films and always
wanted to be a part of the process that makes
them reach the audience from their origins
and also make some money. My association
with movies started off as a distributor.
During that phase, I often felt that even the
films which flopped could've worked with
some slight changes. This feeling bothered me
until I decided to produce films".
Raju's story begins at RP Road, where he ran
his automobile business. The area also
happens to be the hub of film distribution
offices. "There used to be a drop-a-coin
phone box near our shop where many film
professionals used to frequent and discuss lot
of things regarding films. I used to hear their
stories, their successes, their failures and this
naturally aroused my interest in films. I
started thinking of venturing into some
business in films. One of our relatives was
already a successful film distributor. I
partnered with them, but tasted failure had to
get back to the old business of automobile
spare parts. But the film bug would never
leave me. I tried again as an individual
distributor and this time my cousin Shirish
and buddy Laxman came forward to partner
with me. Together we faced colossal failures
but eventually tasted sweet success."
Raju believes that his belief in the strength of
script, the opportunity of marketing a novel
idea and encouraging new talent has paid off
big dividends. "We already had a grip in the
distribution of films which gave us a better
understanding of what clicks and what not. This
factor helped us to make a better judgement in
selecting and implementing new ideas."
With a team comprising his partners Shirish
and Laxman, honesty, is the cornerstone of
his business. "In business, one cannot avoid
taking decisions which we personally not like.
But we need to be generous to those who
work hard." His production house's motto is
also unchanged in the last eight years - to
encourage young and new talent, but that
comes with a rider. "A person who
approaches us with something in hand should
be sure of himself and what he has. Clarity in
filmmaking and judging capability of the
market situation is a must."